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Torremolinos 73
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
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  1. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    90
    This delicious little period piece from Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger is like one of those really expensive chocolates, where you start out expecting a brief sugar buzz and end up surprised by the sophistication and delicacy of the flavor.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    It's a bawdy farce done with real delicacy, a charming adult comedy that ends up with unlooked-for emotional heft. If that doesn't cover all the bases, it certainly comes close.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    The result is a highly amusing folly, rendered with a surprisingly gentle affection.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Slyly funny.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    70
    Possesses a lighthearted quality that makes it rather enjoyable.
  6. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    Raunchy without ever devolving into flat-out prurience, Berger's oddly sweet comedy perfectly captures the naivete of the era and the unexpected wholesomeness of some of its adult entertainment.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    70
    Though never unpleasant, thanks largely to Cámara and Peña's warmly convincing performances, Torremolinos 73 only really takes off when it deals with the filmmaking process.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Van Gelder
    70
    Such a joyous celebration of sex and filmmaking that viewers will forgive its director for taking time out to enjoy a little of both.
  9. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    70
    Starting out as a wacky little comedy about a mousy Spanish couple who become unwitting porn stars, Torremolinos 73 suddenly morphs, during the third act, into a far more sober and tender story about the lengths to which a man will go to give his wife what she wants.
  10. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    67
    Deepened by the socioeconomic undercurrent that suggests the lengths to which workers are forced to prostitute themselves to survive corporate downsizing.
  11. Empire
    Reviewed by: Patrick Peters
    60
    This is a gentle, camp but nonetheless revealing satire on how a nation circumvented the social strictures imposed upon it by Franco's fading fascist regime.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Holland
    60
    Somewhat wacky tale, based on real events, is kept anchored in reality through attention to detail and by first-rate central perfs.
  13. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    50
    Has the slapped-together, cheesy look of a porno movie. While this could be distracting, the shoddiness sets the mood for a humorous spin on the European porn industry circa early 1970s.
  14. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    All this and not a glimmer of General Franco makes for a surreal – and sporadically inspired – comedy of Spanish mores back when naughty was nice.
  15. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Has the dubious distinction of being just about the mildest porno comedy ever made. It's like something the teenage Pedro Almodóvar might have written to shock his 10th-grade creative writing teacher.
  16. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Kim Morgan
    50
    Pablo Berger's subtle satire Torremolinos 73 is almost there. Almost.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ben Kenigsberg
    50
    Its Saul Bass-y credits suggest an Almodóvarian flamboyance, but this impotent '70s-set comedy mostly skimps on discoteca stylishness.
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Reece Pendleton
    40
    Camara and Peña are perfectly cast as the bewildered couple, and early on Berger gets some laughs from the one-note premise. But the material grows increasingly stale as the film drags on to its unintentionally creepy finale.
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